Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB2084 Compare Versions

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1	1	By: Ogden S.B. No. 2084
2	2	(In the Senate - Filed March 13, 2009; March 31, 2009, read
3	3	first time and referred to Committee on Finance; May 1, 2009,
4	4	reported adversely, with favorable Committee Substitute by the
5	5	following vote: Yeas 9, Nays 5; May 1, 2009, sent to printer.)
6	6	COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 2084 By: Ogden
7	7
8	8
9	9	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
10	10	AN ACT
11	11	relating to eligibility for a TEXAS grant and to administration of
12	12	the TEXAS grant program.
13	13	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
14	14	SECTION 1. Subdivision (2), Section 56.301, Education Code,
15	15	is amended to read as follows:
16	16	(2) "Eligible institution" means:
17	17	(A) for a person who graduates from high school
18	18	on or after May 1, 2010, a general academic teaching institution as
19	19	defined by Section 61.003; and
20	20	(B) for any other person, an institution of
21	21	higher education that offers one or more undergraduate degree or
22	22	certification programs.
23	23	SECTION 2. Section 56.303, Education Code, is amended by
24	24	amending Subsection (d) and adding Subsections (e), (f), and (g) to
25	25	read as follows:
26	26	(d) The coordinating board annually shall determine the
27	27	allocation among eligible institutions of money available for TEXAS
28	28	grants and shall distribute the money accordingly.
29	29	(e) In determining who should receive a TEXAS grant, the
30	30	coordinating board and the eligible institutions shall give highest
31	31	priority to awarding TEXAS grants to students who demonstrate the
32	32	greatest financial need.
33	33	(f) Beginning with TEXAS grants awarded for the 2010-2011
34	34	academic year, in determining who should receive an initial TEXAS
35	35	grant, each eligible institution, in addition to giving priority as
36	36	provided by Subsection (e), shall give highest priority to students
37	37	who meet the eligibility criteria described by Section
38	38	56.3041(a)(2)(A). If there is money available in excess of the
39	39	amount required to award an initial TEXAS grant to all students
40	40	meeting those criteria, an institution may make awards to other
41	41	students who meet the eligibility criteria described by Section
42	42	56.304(a)(2)(A).
43	43	(g) For the 2010-2011, 2011-2012, and 2012-2013 academic
44	44	years, each eligible institution shall give priority under
45	45	Subsections (e) and (f) in awarding TEXAS grants to the extent
46	46	required by Section 56.3041(a-1). This subsection expires June 1,
47	47	2013.
48	48	SECTION 3. Subchapter M, Chapter 56, Education Code, is
49	49	amended by amending Section 56.3041 and adding Section 56.3042 to
50	50	read as follows:
51	51	Sec. 56.3041. INITIAL ELIGIBILITY OF PERSON GRADUATING FROM
52	52	HIGH SCHOOL ON OR AFTER MAY 1, 2010. (a) To be eligible initially
53	53	for a TEXAS grant, a person graduating from high school on or after
54	54	May 1, 2010, must:
55	55	(1) be a resident of this state as determined by
56	56	coordinating board rules;
57	57	(2) meet the academic requirements prescribed by
58	58	Paragraph (A), (B), or (C) as follows:
59	59	(A) be a graduate of a public or accredited
60	60	private high school in this state who completed the recommended
61	61	high school program established under Section 28.025 or its
62	62	equivalent and have accomplished at least two of the following:
63	63	(i) graduated under the advanced high
64	64	school program established under Section 28.025 or its equivalent
65	65	or successfully completed the international baccalaureate diploma
66	66	program, including program assessments;
67	67	(ii) graduated from high school with a
68	68	grade point average of at least 3.0 on a four-point scale or the
69	69	equivalent;
70	70	(iii) satisfied college readiness
71	71	benchmarks on the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) or ACT, as
72	72	determined by the coordinating board; or
73	73	(iv) be ranked in the top one-third of the
74	74	person's high school graduating class at the end of the semester
75	75	used by the applicable eligible institution for admissions
76	76	purposes;
77	77	(B) have received an associate degree from a
78	78	public or private institution of higher education; or
79	79	(C) if sufficient money is available, meet the
80	80	eligibility criteria described by Section 56.304(a)(2)(A);
81	81	(3) meet financial need requirements established by
82	82	the coordinating board;
83	83	(4) be enrolled in an undergraduate degree program at
84	84	an eligible institution;
85	85	(5) except as provided under rules adopted under
86	86	Subsection (g), be enrolled as:
87	87	(A) an entering undergraduate student for at
88	88	least three-fourths of a full course load, as determined by the
89	89	coordinating board, not later than the 16th month after the date the
90	90	person graduates from high school;
91	91	(B) an entering undergraduate student who
92	92	entered military service not later than 12 months after graduating
93	93	from high school and who enrolled at an eligible institution not
94	94	later than 12 months after being honorably discharged from military
95	95	service; or
96	96	(C) a continuing undergraduate student for at
97	97	least three-fourths of a full course load, as determined by the
98	98	coordinating board, not later than the 12th month after the date the
99	99	person receives an associate degree from a public or private
100	100	institution of higher education;
101	101	(6) have applied for any available financial aid or
102	102	assistance; and
103	103	(7) comply with any additional nonacademic
104	104	requirements adopted by the coordinating board under this
105	105	subchapter.
106	106	(a-1) Subsection (a)(2)(A) applies to at least:
107	107	(1) 25 percent of the students who receive a TEXAS
108	108	grant under this section and who graduate from high school on or
109	109	after May 1, 2010, but before May 1, 2011;
110	110	(2) 50 percent of the students who receive a TEXAS
111	111	grant under this section and who graduate from high school on or
112	112	after May 1, 2011, but before May 1, 2012;
113	113	(3) 75 percent of the students who receive a TEXAS
114	114	grant under this section and who graduate from high school on or
115	115	after May 1, 2012, but before May 1, 2013; and
116	116	(4) all students who graduate from high school on or
117	117	after May 1, 2013.
118	118	(a-2) Subsection (a-1) and this subsection expire January
119	119	1, 2014.
120	120	(b) A person is not eligible to receive a TEXAS grant if the
121	121	person has been convicted of a felony or an offense under Chapter
122	122	481, Health and Safety Code, or under the law of another
123	123	jurisdiction involving a controlled substance as defined by Chapter
124	124	481, Health and Safety Code, unless the person has met the other
125	125	applicable eligibility requirements under this subchapter and has:
126	126	(1) received a certificate of discharge from the Texas
127	127	Department of Criminal Justice or a correctional facility or
128	128	completed a period of probation ordered by a court and at least two
129	129	years have elapsed from the date of the receipt of completion; or
130	130	(2) been pardoned, had the record of the offense
131	131	expunged from the person's record, or otherwise been released from
132	132	the resulting ineligibility to receive a grant under this
133	133	subchapter.
134	134	(c) A person is not eligible to receive a TEXAS grant if the
135	135	person has been granted a baccalaureate degree.
136	136	(d) A person may not receive a TEXAS grant for more than 150
137	137	semester credit hours or the equivalent.
138	138	(e) Except as provided under rules adopted under Subsection
139	139	(f), a person's eligibility for a TEXAS grant ends on:
140	140	(1) the fifth anniversary of the initial award of a
141	141	TEXAS grant to the person if the person is enrolled in a degree or
142	142	certificate program of four years or less; or
143	143	(2) the sixth anniversary of the initial award of a
144	144	TEXAS grant to the person if the person is enrolled in a degree or
145	145	certificate program of more than four years.
146	146	(f) The coordinating board shall adopt rules to provide a
147	147	person who is otherwise eligible to receive a TEXAS grant
148	148	additional time during which the person may receive a TEXAS grant in
149	149	the event of a hardship or other good cause shown that prevents the
150	150	person from continuing the person's enrollment during the period
151	151	the person would otherwise have been eligible to receive a TEXAS
152	152	grant, including a showing of:
153	153	(1) severe illness or other debilitating condition
154	154	experienced by the person; or
155	155	(2) responsibility of the person for the care of a
156	156	sick, injured, or needy person.
157	157	(g) The coordinating board shall adopt rules to allow a
158	158	person who is otherwise eligible to receive a TEXAS grant in the
159	159	event of a hardship or for other good cause shown, including a
160	160	showing of a severe illness or other debilitating condition that
161	161	may affect the person's academic performance or that the person is
162	162	responsible for the care of a sick, injured, or needy person and
163	163	that the person's provision of care may affect the person's academic
164	164	performance, to receive a TEXAS grant while enrolled in a number of
165	165	semester credit hours that is less than the number required by
166	166	Subsection (a)(5). The coordinating board may not allow a person to
167	167	receive a TEXAS grant while enrolled in fewer than six semester
168	168	credit hours or the equivalent.
169	169	Sec. 56.3042. INITIAL ELIGIBILITY OF PERSON ON TRACK TO
170	170	MEET MERIT REQUIREMENTS [COMPLETE RECOMMENDED OR ADVANCED
171	171	CURRICULUM]. (a) If at the time an eligible institution awards
172	172	TEXAS grants to initial recipients for an academic year an
173	173	applicant has not completed high school or the applicant's final
174	174	high school transcript is not yet available to the institution, the
175	175	student is considered to have satisfied the eligibility
176	176	requirements of Section 56.304(a)(2)(A) or 56.3041(a)(2)(A) if the
177	177	student's available high school transcript indicates that at the
178	178	time the transcript was prepared the student was on schedule to
179	179	graduate from high school and to meet the eligibility requirements
180	180	[complete the recommended or advanced high school curriculum or its
181	181	equivalent], as applicable to the student, in time to be eligible
182	182	for a TEXAS grant for the academic year.
183	183	(b) The coordinating board or the eligible institution may
184	184	require the student to forgo or repay the amount of an initial TEXAS
185	185	grant awarded to the student as described by Subsection (a) if the
186	186	student fails to meet the eligibility requirements of Section
187	187	56.3041(a)(2)(A) [complete the recommended or advanced high school
188	188	curriculum or its equivalent] after the issuance of the available
189	189	high school transcript.
190	190	(c) A person who is required to forgo or repay the amount of
191	191	an initial TEXAS grant under Subsection (b) may become eligible to
192	192	receive an initial TEXAS grant under Section 56.304 or 56.3041 by
193	193	satisfying the associate degree requirement prescribed by Section
194	194	56.304(a)(2)(B) or 56.3041(a)(2)(B) and the other applicable
195	195	requirements of the [that] section applicable to the person at the
196	196	time the person reapplies for the grant.
197	197	(d) A person who receives an initial TEXAS grant under
198	198	Subsection (a) and is not required to forgo or repay the amount of
199	199	the grant under Subsection (b) may become eligible to receive a
200	200	subsequent TEXAS grant under Section 56.305 only by satisfying the
201	201	associate degree requirement prescribed by Section 56.304(a)(2)(B)
202	202	or 56.3041(a)(2)(B), as applicable to the person, in addition to
203	203	the requirements of Section 56.305 at the time the person applies
204	204	for the subsequent grant.
205	205	SECTION 4. This Act takes effect January 1, 2010.
206	206	* * * * *